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How to use sound effectively in quake?

Sound is supposed to be one of the most important things in quake. How do you use it? I know you can hear enemies but what else. I sometimes hear "quad damage". Does that mean someone got it or it spawned? Any other ways to use sound?
Thanks for the help. I know i have made lots of threads but i need the help.

The biggest thing you need is a very good headset, after that just go to a server with a friend and have him bounce around telling you the location he's at, or else just do it by playing lots and listening alot. Also, what i have noticed about good headset (i use a G35), if the player is above you, you hear more noise at the top of your ear, if he's below you, the bottom of your ear. If he's on the same floor as you, you hear it equally. I dunno if it's me, but that's what i have noticed. As for using that to your advantage...it's most likely a listening skill.

Sound is supposed to be one of the most important things in quake. How do you use it? I know you can hear enemies but what else.

Provided that you are in range, you can hear enemies picking up items which gives you their location and potential direction, hear enemies go through teleporters, trigger doors and also enemy hitsounds that give you information about their health (not armor!). As well as their footsteps and strafe jumps.

You can also hear the "whoosh" sound of items spawning.

I sometimes hear "quad damage". Does that mean someone got it or it spawned?

"Quad Damage" means that someone picked it up.

A big Swoosh sound means that a powerup spawned, be it quad damage, battelsuit, haste, invisibility, or regen. The kamikaze makes a bell sound when it spawns.

Any other ways to use sound?

Sounds are used to determine enemy location, and to some degree, the status of items on the map.

Hit beeps tell you when/how many times you hit and how much damage you dealt, as well as give a rough idea of your own health via hurt sounds.

They are also used to time shots, for example the sound of RL firing and the RL exploding and the time distance between them is information about how quickly the rocket travels and the distance between you and the target. So, sounds are also used to get a sense of timing for game events. Switching weapons, weapon reload time, strafe jumps and more.

Contrary to what others say a good pair of headphones are crucial, cheap ones simply won't do the job as well; a good pair gives you more variation in the same tones, so you can decipher more accurately where they are in 3D space. Also, don't rely solely on sound, it's just one part of the bigger puzzle: where are they? You need to keep in mind your opponents usual routes, and what makes logical sense for them to do. If you don't do this the sound can get confusing at times, and mislead you. It'll most likely come naturally to you the longer you spend in-game. If you don't already know this, Keel is the loudest player model, and it can be helpful to set cg_forceenemyplayermodel to keel/bright (though I think this is standard now?).

This is a bit controversial. For example some would consider TankJr's sounds to be louder (more apparent anyways, louder would be an exploit), although in my opinion they are more difficult to differentiate. Others find them easier to differentiate. So, it might not be a one size fits all type of problem.

and it can be helpful to set cg_forceenemyplayermodel to keel/bright (though I think this is standard now?).

just make sure you have a headset that can distinguish sounds properly. ie so you can tell if enemy is to the left or right. in ear headsets work well with quake imo. when an enemy screams it means they are low on health. when a powerup is announced is means that a player has picked it up. lg and railgun emit buzzing sounds as well so you can tell an enemy's position when they have it out.